About a year ago we bought a Nintendo Wii video game console. I've never been a big ''video gamer.'' Often when I would be scanning a patient they would see me working the user interface without taking my eyes off the monitor and they would comment that I must be good at video games. I would reply that I really didn't like video gaming because I ...

In case you haven't heard, the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) has announced that starting in Spring 2009, a new Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) examination will be made available. Before all of you who are already certified have a panic attack, I'll state up-front that active registrants who ...

There have been many studies published recently regarding the benefits of breast ultrasound, even as a screening tool. Breast ultrasound is a common exam for patients experiencing some type of breast symptom throughout our healthcare system. But who is performing this test? Mammographers can now perform breast ultrasound after ...

I recently received the results of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography's 2008 Sonographer Salary and Benefits Survey. Every few years the SDMS does a survey and provides its membership with the results---it's a nice benefit of being an SDMS member. The results contained in the 87-page survey are rather detailed with data provided ...

For the past several years I've been visiting high schools (and occasionally elementary schools) to teach students about diagnostic medical sonography and the role of the sonographer. Although the primary objective of these trips is to encourage students to consider pursuing DMS careers, I spend the majority of the time just educating them about ...

Last week the Jefferson Ultrasound Research and Education Institute (my employer) held it's annual Leading Edge in Diagnostic Ultrasound conference in Atlantic City, NJ. This was the 28th annual meeting and I felt very much like a ''seasoned alumni'' (read: old) since I've been to this meeting for the last 25 years. The meeting director, Dr. Barry ...

A change in the labeling of Definity and Optison is the direct result of concerted efforts by the echocardiology community. Chalk one up for the good guys! In a rare move, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to relax its warning about the possible risks of the two commercially available ultrasound contrast agents, ...

At this year's Annual American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine conference, Dr. Brian Garra of the University of Vermont School of Medicine and long-time sonographer advocate made scientific a presentation entitled ''Scan Protocols for Use by Nonmedical Personnel in Developing Countries: Organ Visibility and Reproducibility Evaluation.'' It ...

Remember the days when the sonographer could go off on portables (toting a bundle of film cassettes) taking their own sweet time to wander around the hospital, do a few cases in the intensive care units, chat with the floor nurses and colleagues they met in the hallway or admire the view from the top floor of the hospital (at least that's what ...

As sonographers and vascular technologists, it is in our interest for the medical community (as well as the general public) to recognize the benefits of our examinations. This includes the potential and real benefits diagnostic sonography offers as compared to other more costly imaging modalities such as CT or MRI and/or modalities that utilize ...